The West Side story continued for the Blue Jays on Wednesday afternoon in Oakland as they outlasted the Athletics 7-5. This chapter included the Blue Jays using the long ball to score all 7 runs, a rock-solid bullpen, and the left fielder dropping more balls.
The Bringer of Rain would bring some thunder to the 10th inning, taking Oakland’s Frankie Montas deep for a two-run blast. Donaldson’s now has 7 home runs on the season and appears to be getting back to full strength, a great sign for the Blue Jays.
Justin Smoak was up to his new tricks. Smoaky led off the 4th inning with another bomb to the power alley in left. He would then tack on an insurance run in the 10th inning with a solo shot. He now has 17 HR’s on the season, only 1 behind the AL lead. Just let that sink in…
Kevin Pillar would also go yard in the 4th off of Oakland’s starter Jharel Cotton, this one for a three-run shot. Great to see Pillar hit the ball hard… the Blue Jays are a much better team with him setting the tone.
Frank the Tank was good but not great. He completed 5 innings, striking out 5 and only issuing 1 base on balls. The defense let him down again as at least 3 of the 4 runs the Athletics scored were the result of bad defensive plays. Ezequiel Carrera was glued to the bench today after his performance last night, so today Chris Coghlan took it upon himself to continue the circus act.
The team now heads to Seattle for the weekend to play some home games away from the dome, which should give the team a boost as they edge closer to .500. Joe Biagini gets the ball Friday night. There’s no word yet if he’s asked Gibby to play Stroman in left.
